Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), recorded as Critically Endangered
Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Giant sea bass

Stereolepis gigas

The giant sea bass is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Stereolepis gigas
Taxonomy
Perciformes · Polyprionidae · Stereolepis

Appearance

Juveniles of the species are brightly colored in red or orange. They become gray or brown as they mature.

There are published reports of giant sea bass exceeding 2.1 metres (7 ft) in length.

Range and habitat

The giant sea bass is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean.

Several freedivers had taken seven fish at Santa Cruz Island. The total breeding population in California in 2018 is estimated to be around 500 individuals, of that 40 to 50 return to spawn around Catalina Island each year.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

Giant sea bass feed on crustaceans, as well as a wide variety of fish. Mackerel, sheephead, whitefish, sand bass, and several types of crab also make up the sea bass's diet.

In crisis

Once relatively common in Southern California waters, the fish was facing the threat of local extinction there by the 1980s. By the late 1970s, biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game recognized that the local population of giant sea bass had declined. In 1996, the species was listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.

As of 2004, it is suggested that the population size of giant sea bass in California may be increasing as it is under protection. Even so, there is no hard data to support it. Giant sea bass remain understudied in the Mexican portion of its range, although efforts are underway to monitor the population size, genetic connectivity, and fishing pressure along the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula.

Giant sea bass is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Giant sea bass, Wikidata item Q1070009. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Phocoena sinus
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Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
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Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
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Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Giant sea bass?
The giant sea bass is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean.
What is the conservation status of Giant sea bass?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Stereolepis gigas. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Giant sea bass live?
The giant sea bass is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean.
Why is Giant sea bass in crisis?
The total breeding population in California in 2018 is estimated to be around 500 individuals, of that 40 to 50 return to spawn around Catalina Island each year.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Stereolepis gigas?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Giant sea bass a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.